Matters of Being Just Us
by xoKrystalMox
Summary: When Max asked Shred one day how it would feel like to date a boy, Alvin aka Shred wasn't expecting him to literally take his advice to heart. So, when Max decided to get Alvin to date him just for the sake to satisfy his curiosity, Alvin had no idea why he agreed. Now, things are just getting out of control in his brain and his heart and it was all Max's fault! [max/shred]
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Matters of Being Just Us **

**Author: Krystal Munroe**

**Pairing/Slash: Max/Shred**

**Summary: **When Max asked Shred one day how it would feel like to date a boy, Alvin aka Shred wasn't expecting him to literally take his advice to heart. So, when Max decided to get Alvin to date him just for the sake to satisfy his curiosity, Alvin had no idea why he agreed. Now, things are just getting out of control in his brain and his heart and it was all Max's fault!

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Uhm...-hides- Something's wrong with me. I just got into this fandom and I just, have no explanation for this. I really tried not to make them a slash but the need to write got the best of me and here I am, haha-Max and Shred slash. Oh wells, what's done is done. I wrote this for fun and I'm in no way, going to write another fiction with these two *ever again*. Why? I don't want them to be together though, because they're so cute being as best bros and making them slashy just ruins it. But somehow, the other side of me wanted a slash of them and so I decided, to just get over this side of me, I would write down my own Max/Shred slash for one and last time. =3 This idea won't leave me alone anyways. **

**So, yeah, that's my explanation. And I know I have other fan fiction but don't worry, I'm writing. Still writing, even if I update quite late, I won't ever abandon my story (unless people hate it). Haha...**

**Warning: This is a slash between Max and Shred (the characters only). In no means, anything should be taken seriously, alright? This is just for fun! If you don't like it, you see that big flashy 'x' button? Press that and get the hell out of my stories! I don't need to waste my time deleting your comment and blocking you when you know, you could save yourself from humilliation and just leave. No hate comments, no flames, no homphobic/stupid/idiotic comments or else I will block you and I will report you. **

**Trust me, I will because I have done to some of those type of people before. **

**Anyways, to the rest of the readers who aren't hating anything, enjoy! And drop a review to see if you want me to continue or not!**

**Krystal **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

* * *

><p>Howie looked at Alvin aka Shred as he worked on her prototype. "Is it working?" she asked as Alvin finally took off his goggles and took a step back from his latest project. With a proud smile, he adjusted his glasses and looked at Howie.<p>

"It's finally working," he said, his proud voice taking over as Howie grinned and clapped her hands together happily.

"Great! Thanks, Alvin," Howie said as she grabbed onto the small metallic box.

"Wait!" Alvin called out as she stopped in her actions, looking at him expectantly. Squinting his eyes, he said, "What are you planning to do with that micro-electron magnifier?"

Howie just smiled, her lips stretching into what seemed like an evil smile. Alvin felt a cold shudder down his spine as he noticed her face. He knew that look anywhere and usually, it involved when it was about Max. Something about him made her go crazy in love, or something like that. "I want to use it to see Max."

"Uhm…," Alvin said, his voice coming out in uncertainty. "Why?"

Howie just shrugged as a dreamy look filled her face. "He's just so cute." Alvin didn't have time to respond to that when she took that box and walked to the window before she pushed it upwards and walked out. Shred didn't know what she saw in Max but apparently, he wasn't that into his feelings anyway. About half of the population—maybe more than a half, liked—no, loved Max Asher.

Alvin just sighed before stripping out from his lab coat and placed it on the table. He walked to the bed and slumped down before he took his science magazine and decided to relax, continuing reading. He barely made through one page when the door to his and Max's room opened, walking in was the snowboard rider sensation himself. Max just dropped his bag on the bed and sat on it.

"Hey," Max greeted with a grin like he always did as he looked at Alvin.

"Hey," Alvin greeted back nonchalantly and continued on with his magazine, ignoring that Max was ever there. Silence enrolled into the room and before he knew it, Alvin found the silence disturbing. Whenever Max was in the same room as he was, it was never quiet. Alvin slowly looked away from his magazine towards Max's side of the room.

What he saw completely took him off guard. Max looked so serious as he leaned against the headboard of his bed, furrowing his eyebrows, thinking about something. Alvin raised his eyebrows at that scene, unsure of whether to retort a sarcastic comment or to ask him what was wrong. Finally, after a few seconds, Alvin sighed and placed down his magazine. "What's wrong, Max?"

Max immediately snapped his gaze at his best friend and sighed before he messed up his already messed up hair. "Hey, Shred, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," Alvin straightened himself as he looked at Max, ushering him to go on. Max looked away from Shred as he slowly scratched the back of his neck nervously. With a small nervous laugh, Max finally looked back at Alvin and spoke.

"What's it like to date a boy?" Max asked. Alvin's fast-paced brain worked so fast that it left a stunned silence in the room. Alvin blinked a few times as he stared at his best friend, unsure of what to say. Max ignored the shunned silence and spoke again, "It's just I saw two boys kissing at school a few days ago and I don't know—they seemed normal?"

"Max," Alvin started. "Why are you asking this?"

Silence took over once again as Max sighed and finally stood up. Pacing in the room, Alvin's eyes just followed him as Max attempted to explain himself. "It just got me thinking what it would feel like to date a boy, that's all. So, you're the brainiac, I thought you would know."

"Max, Science is my thing, not feelings," Alvin said, almost softening his voice at the word 'feelings'. Max stopped pacing before he looked at Alvin. Alvin shifted uncomfortably on the bed as he sighed, trying to take control of this situation. "Max, it's alright. It's just, you're curious. That's all. It'll pass."

Max nodded, taking it seriously. "But what if it doesn't go away," he said, starting to make hand gestures. "What to do then, Shred?"

Alvin shrugged, not liking this conversation one bit. He didn't care, honestly, that Max was bisexual at least, but the fact that he was asking Alvin about it didn't settle well for the young scientist. "I don't know, Max." Alvin just sighed before he stood up from his bed, ready to leave the room from discussing this any further. "Just date a boy then to satisfy that inner curiosity of yours. I'm going to get something to eat now."

Max just stood there as he thought about it. Alvin just shook his head as he reached the kitchen. He saw Abby texting someone as he made his way to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. Suddenly, he didn't feel like eating. Abby noticed Alvin and looked up from her phone. "What?" she asked when she realised that Alvin was staring at her.

"Nothing," Alvin said. "Who you're texting?" he asked as he took a cup and poured the chilled water into it.

"Oh," Abby said, a smile stretching on her lips. "Just Kyle."

"Kyle?" Alvin asked as he sipped his drink.

"Yeap, my new boyfriend," she squealed excitedly. "He's so romantic!"

"How interesting," Alvin said dryly. Abby just rolled her eyes at him. "How long has it been? Two days?"

Abby pouted a bit as she tried to deny it. "No—maybe…okay, it's been two days," she said defeated. "But, I think he's the one! I can feel it," she said as she sighed dreamily. Alvin just smiled small. As long as she was happy, he was happy.

Finally deciding to head back to their room, Alvin hoped that Max wouldn't bring that conversation up again. It was already awkward and it was certainly not Max Asher move. Nope, that certainly wasn't. He was a charmer but he never really thought anything seriously besides his snowboard training. Walking away from the kitchen, he took the stairs to get back to his room.

Once he walked into the room, he saw Max sitting at his corner, playing his video game. Alvin felt relieved at that as he flopped onto his bed and continued to read his science magazine. Silence only lasted about five minutes before he heard Max taking off his headphones and placing down his controller on the ground. "Hey, Shred?"

"Yeah?" Alvin asked, his eyes not leaving the magazine.

"Wanna go out with me?"

"Where to?" Alvin asked as he placed the magazine on the bed again, looking at Max with one of his eyebrows raised. Max sighed before he rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Not that type of 'go out'," he said as he quoted. Alvin furrowed his eyebrows as confusion filled his eyes.

"Max, what are you talking about?"

"Let's go out," Max said. Standing up, he grinned, as if he was making any sense. "You said the only way to satisfy my curiosity is to try it out, so why not?"

Alvin tried to register the words but all he got was nil. "I don't understand."

"Man, let's go out, you know, like on dates and stuff," Max said as he gestured wildly with his arms, trying to get through Alvin's skull. A few seconds ticked on as he felt this huge uncomfortable silence drowning him. This was so not something Max Asher would do. No, this wasn't it. What the hell was wrong with Max today?

"Max," Alvin started out slowly, hoping that Max was just confused or maybe high from accidentally sniffing some toxic gas. "You're straight. You like girls. This is so not a Max Asher move."

"I know, I know," Max said. "But this Max Asher always likes to try something new," Max shrugged as if this was something normal to talk about. "I like girls, they're cute and pretty but I just want to try and date a boy. No need labels for this awesome Max, okay?"

Right, Alvin was sure, something was wrong with Max. "Max, let's drop it. I need to read this magazine and I need to finish my homework." Alvin took back his magazine and opened a random page to read, hoping Max would get the idea that he didn't want to talk about it and leave him alone for the rest of the day. However, what he got was entirely different.

Max just walked up to Alvin and snatched the magazine away. "Shred, come on, help me out here! We're best bros, aren't we?"

"Max! You're being ridiculous," Alvin exclaimed as he grabbed back the magazine. "You're talking about dating boys as if you wanted to go and get some fro-yo. I'm not comfortable with this conversation. Let's drop it."

"So, you won't help your bro in this?" Max asked, sounding disappointed. Alvin just sighed before he adjusted his glasses.

"You could find other boys to date. I'm not against you with that. I'm just not comfortable with this," Alvin gestured something between them. "I'm your bro so that's why I'm saying this. Drop it."

Max kept quiet for a while before he sighed and dramatically sat next to Alvin. "I mean, I thought you would agree."

"And why did you think that?" Alvin asked, completely taken off guard with that.

"Well, one, we're best bros so dating you wouldn't be that awkward," Max listed. "Two, we're already close. So, dating wouldn't change anything and when I'm finally not curious anymore, we could just go back to being bros again."

Alvin just stared at his best friend, unsure of what to say. He opened and closed his mouth before he shook his head. "There's like one hundred and twenty faults in that list of yours." Alvin opened his magazine again for the umpteenth time and decided to read. Max just shrugged as he sighed.

"I thought it was a great idea," Max said as Alvin rolled his eyes.

"Obviously you did," Alvin muttered under his breath as Max pouted. Silence filled in again as Alvin slowly relaxed into this trance and continued to read about some robotic stuff.

"We don't have to do anything weird," Max said, breaking off the silence.

"Max!" Alvin exclaimed, looking at him with a glare. "I'm trying to read!"

"Come on, bro," Max said as he grabbed onto Alvin's right shoulder. "Try it with me!"

"I said no!" Alvin growled out as he slapped Max's hand away. "Leave me alone."

"For just a few weeks," Max continued on. "And then we go back to being bros again. And I won't ask of this again! Max Asher's promise!"

Alvin groaned under his breath. He didn't know why Max was being this persistent but he knew, if Max didn't get what he wanted, he would try and try until he did. Max wasn't someone who loved to lose even though, lately, Max has been tolerant to Alvin winning. "Max, find someone else. I'm not the material to experiment on. I don't even want to date!"

"Exactly! You're unattached and lonely," Max said as Alvin frowned at that. "So, date me for a few weeks. Please?"

"Max—"

"Please?" Max pleaded as he looked at Alvin. Alvin just stared at him, frowning at him. He really wanted Max to leave him alone now but apparently he would bring this up every time Alvin wanted some peace of mind. Max had even went as far as faking his own 'trapped-phobia' thing to get Alvin to sing that dreaded song (which he had to admit, wasn't that dreadful at all in the end) one time and he knew, Max would do something drastic again to get what he wanted.

He couldn't believe it. This wasn't in his plan at all.

"Would you leave me alone for the rest of the day if I agreed?" Alvin asked, glaring at Max who beamed up. Grinning, he finally patted Alvin on the shoulder.

"So, is that a yes?" Max asked as Alvin finally sighed.

"Fine, leave me alone now," Alvin said quickly as he grabbed onto the magazine again and continued to read. Max just grinned wider before he nodded.

"Thanks, Shred," he said.

Alvin could definitely feel himself regretting now. What the hell was wrong with him? He always somehow gave in too easily when it came to Max and now, this matter, he had given up way too easily! He had just agreed to date Max Asher.

He wasn't into boys like that!

He wasn't even into girls that way! (Most girls.)

Quickly snapping away from his magazine from the sudden realisation, shock filled him. "Wait, Max!" he called out but as he looked around his room, he couldn't find him. Max had already left him alone, like Alvin wanted.

Alvin was about to get up and tell Max that he wanted to take back what he said when the look of hope on his face when he agreed flashed into Alvin's mind. Sitting back down, Alvin groaned under his breath.

What has he done?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here you guys go~! I can't believe that there's so many people interested in this fic. xD Thank you to all that had reviewed, favourited and followed! Anyways, I found this chapter a bit difficult to write since my mind was blank. I really hadn't thought about continuing but when I saw so many people wanting this, I forced myself to write just for you all. But this chapter was just, I don't even know. I tried erase and re-write and this was all I got. Ze tension is killing meh! Haha, I tried~ I hope you guys enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer: Eh, if it was mine, there would be more Max and Shred screen time and removing any irrelevant scenes that doesn't involve those two /slap So, no, this isn't mine~ **

**Warning: This is a slash fic. Don't like, don't read.**

**Enjoy!**

**Krystal**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

* * *

><p>Just like Alvin had wanted, Max did leave him alone for the rest of the day. Even if the young scientist tried, he couldn't find that snowboarder anywhere. It was as if he had vanished from the face of Earth and even though that really made one of Alvin's secret fantasies come true, he doubted that he really wanted his best bro to disappear.<p>

_Apparently my boyfriend now_, Alvin reminded himself in his mind. The thought itself brought some nose-scrunching business into the picture. It wasn't as if it disgusted him—okay, maybe it did, slightly—but how could he not? He never looked at Max as anyone less than a friend and occasionally a brother. So, to think that he was somehow in this type of relationship with Max Asher didn't settle well for him.

Max's reasoning of why he wanted to try dating a boy with Alvin certainly didn't make any sense what so ever to the young scientist. Alvin stared at his homework from on his bed, tapping his pencil slowly on the book as he sighed. It was almost eight and Max wasn't even around during dinnertime. Maybe he was snowboarding or something, something that people like him did. Alvin shook those thoughts from his mind as he looked back at his homework before writing down the answers.

Just then, the room door opened, walked in was Max, the person Alvin had thought of just a few minutes ago. Alvin looked at him as he noticed that Max had come into the room, covered with slight traces of snow on his snowboarding suit. _Well, he went snowboarding after all_, Alvin mused again as he watched Max walking to his bed and taking off his goggle and hat before zipping out from the thick jacket. He placed the snowboard next to his bed.

"Hey, Shred," he grinned as he looked at Alvin.

"Hey," he said, before he looked back at his homework. Realisation dawned him after a few seconds, this was the time to tell Max that he didn't want this! Snapping his gaze at Max, he noticed how Max was smiling as he read something over his phone. Sighing, he said, "Max?"

Max looked away from his phone, looking at Alvin with that same smile on. "Yeah, bro?"

The words were at the tip of his tongue. He could already feel it. It was just some simple words that even Max could understand. But when he looked at his best friend in the eyes, the huge grin plastered on his face, Alvin suddenly couldn't do it. He couldn't see that heavy disappointment in his friend's eyes. Maybe, maybe Max even forgot about it! "Have you had your dinner yet?"

Max chuckled before he nodded, "Yeah, just ate before coming home."

"I see," Alvin said before he sighed and looked back at his homework. There was no use in fighting this thing anymore. He knew he couldn't disappoint Max, even though he didn't like this thing between them. Maybe Max will get bored of this and just decide to forget about it. Alvin decided that it would likely be Max's move and so, went ahead and forced that thought far away from his mind.

"So, how's your day, Shred?" Max asked as Alvin looked up from his homework again, noticing that Max had sat down on his bed and looking at him, that grin was now morphed into a smile. His eyes twinkled with genuine interest, something that Alvin had learned that Max valued their friendship sincerely since the beginning of it all.

"It was fine, thank you," Alvin said. "What about yours? Had fun gliding down the snow and getting cold white stuff everywhere?"

Max chuckled, knowing full well that Alvin disliked that sport. Maybe not disliked, but more of he couldn't understand why snowboarding was a sport. It was just using those boards to glide down snow, occasionally making tricks and spins until someone broke an arm or a few bones. "It was actually fun, bro. I managed to nail a trick and it was sweet!" Max beamed up as Alvin smiled at his friend's—_boyfriend's_—glee.

"Ah, interesting," Alvin said, not really sounding psyched out like Max was. He finally looked back at his homework, trying to finish up the last pieces of this solution so it would be complete.

That was all said between those two as the night became staller. Alvin finally decided to head to bed, trying to just keep all those thoughts out from bugging him any longer. It was just Max. Max just wanted to try what it would be like to date a boy, he wouldn't do weird things. He said it himself, Alvin convinced himself before he placed his glasses at the table near his bed. "Night, Max," he said as Max nodded at him as he settled himself into his bed as well.

"Night, Shred."

* * *

><p>Morning came faster than Alvin had wanted. When his alarm clock went off, Alvin was groaning to himself. So much for not letting those thoughts to bother him. He bitterly sat up and took his phone and closed the alarm. Grabbing his glasses blindly, his mind clouded with sleepiness, he finally found it and adjusted it against his face. Yawning a bit, he scratched his head and looked ahead to where Max was still sleeping, occasionally moving around and mumbling something.<p>

Slowly he got out of his bed and walked wobbly to his closet. Rummaging through, he found his clothes and decided to walk to the bathroom. But before he did, he realised that if he didn't wake Max up now, he certainly would oversleep. Sighing, he turned around and walked to Max's bed before he touched his shoulder and shook him. "Max, wake up. Time for school."

"Just five more minutes, bro," he said before he snuggled deeper into his bed. Alvin sighed as he decided that he didn't have his oatmeal yet to deal with this. So, he walked to his AI, Mr P and sighed. Mr P immediately popped up and looked at him, wearing his pyjamas as he yawned.

"How can I help you this early in the morning, Alvin?" he asked as he yawned, even though he knew that he couldn't feel any sense of tiredness. Alvin sighed before pointing at the bed.

"Wake Max up while I get showered," he said before walking out of the room, leaving Mr P to do the work for him. Just before he closed the door to the bathroom, he heard a loud screeching bell sound and a short scream from Max before everything went quiet. Alvin just smiled before he closed the bathroom door shut. Once he had showered and cleaned himself, he exited the bathroom with Max leaning against the opposite wall, yawning a bit.

"Good morning, Shred," Max said, grinning, even though he was woken up quite abruptly. Alvin just smiled back.

"Good morning, Max," he said before he walked past Max to their room to get his bag. It took about fifteen minutes before Alvin had finished packing his bag and ready to head out when he saw Max walking back in, wearing his plain grey shirt and chequered shirt on the outside, heading to his bed to grab his bag.

Alvin didn't say anything else as he jogged downstairs, heading to the kitchen for his breakfast. He already saw his mother sitting and eating with his father, laughing about some joke he made (which wasn't all that funny at all). Abby was busy texting and eating her cereal when Alvin had took his bowl of oatmeal his mother had prepared and sat next to her.

"Good morning, Alvin," his mother, Diane, said as she smiled at him.

"Morning, mom," Alvin greeted before he took his spoon and ate his oatmeal.

"Where's Max?" Llyod, his father, asked. Alvin looked at him before he looked at the doorway. After a few seconds, he saw Max rushing down the stairs.

"He's here," Alvin said shortly before returning his gaze back at the bowl of oatmeal.

"Good morning, Mama and Papa Ackerman," Max greeted widely before he entered the kitchen. Diane smile at him before greeting back meanwhile Llyod just waved small as he was busy eating his pancakes.

"Morning, Max," Abby said as she kept her eyes glued on the phone meanwhile Max chuckled at her.

"Why are you so into your phone?" Alvin asked, after staring at Abby for approximately a few seconds. Max looked at her from behind the kitchen counter, making himself some toast as he waited for the answer. Abby slowly looked up from her phone and beamed up, a huge smile marking her face.

"Kyle's texting me," she said dreamily as Diane swallowed her food before she looked at Abby.

"Kyle? A new one?" she asked as Abby nodded, going through her phone again before she gave the phone to Diane.

"This is him," Abby said. "Isn't he cute?"

"He is, isn't he, honey?" Diane agreed as she showed the phone to their father. Alvin just rolled his eyes before going back to eating his oatmeal, not really interested in the conversation anymore. As he took a huge spoonful of his oatmeal, he felt someone sitting down next to him, placing a plate of toasts. Looking up, he saw Max already taking a bite out of his food.

"So, Alvin," Abby called out as Alvin looked at her. "What happened to that love note?"

Alvin heard, yes, he _heard_ Max stop eating as the young scientist sighed. Oh yes, that _dreaded love note_. It was about three days ago when Alvin opened his locker and found a note specified for him. He didn't know who the girl was but Alvin was obviously, still happy. He didn't think any girl would ever look at him that way. But when he did find out who the girl was, well, it wasn't that he was picky but she wasn't his type.

Not that he actually had a type. Any girl who was decent and nice to him would catch his heart but this girl just wasn't it. He wasn't sure if he could return her feelings even if he did agree to go out with her. And besides, right now, he just wanted to focus on how to excel in his life and get rid of Wendy Chong once and for all. This girl that adored him, she should've had someone better.

So, Alvin, in all honesty, he told her he wasn't ready. She seemed fine about it, nodding and smiling away even if he rejected her. Alvin had found that weird before he realised that she didn't really like him. He had found out that it was just a bet, to see if he would agree to go out with her or not if she did end up liking him.

Alvin was convinced that day, that he would reject every love note he got (not that he got that many anyway). He didn't feel bad or embarrassed, in fact, he was glad he got rid of her. At least he could've saved himself from getting hurt. For that, Alvin had patted himself in the back and walked away, heading off with his life and forgot about that love note.

Hey, he had other things to worry about other than that petty bet and love note.

_Like getting rid of Wendy Chong._

"You got a love note?" his father asked as Alvin sighed.

"No, well, yes, but it's all been taken care of," he said before he resumed eating his oatmeal.

"Taken care of? So, you met the girl?" Diane asked as she looked at her son, her face itching to break into a grin. Alvin just rolled his eyes before he leaned against his chair and stared at his mother.

"Yes, I met her," he said slowly as Abby squealed a bit. Abby grabbed onto his arm and looked at him, expecting him to continue. "And I rejected her."

Abby's smile faltered as she dropped her hand from her brother's arm and the whole table went silent for a while. "You rejected her? But why?" Abby asked, obviously confused that her nerd brother would let that one chance at love go. Alvin sighed before he got up, ready to just head to school.

"I just didn't like her that way," he said as Diane smile small. "I'm off to school now. See you guys later."

"W—what? Alvin!" Abby yelled after him as Alvin grabbed onto his bag and headed to the front door, wearing his thick jacket first.

"I'm going too, see you guys," Max said quickly before he shoved the last toast into his mouth and hurried to grab his bag and followed Alvin. Once he wore his thick coat, he followed Alvin out, who was waiting for Max before they both continued to walk. Silence took over as the snow covered trails left a path from their soles. "So, I didn't know you got a love letter, Shred."

Alvin glanced at Max before sighing loudly. "I did not see the importance to let you know about it. I rejected her anyway."

Max just chuckled before looking at his bro. "Man, you just like said 'No, I don't like you that way' to her?" Max asked as Alvin nodded.

"Yeah, something like that," Alvin said uninterested as Max nodded, shoving his hands into his jacket. The walk to their school was a slow one but they made it before the bell had rung. Alvin had left Max to get to his locker, finally reaching that blue coloured metal. Quickly swirling on the knob, he opened the door and looked through before grabbing onto his books.

Just then, a familiar figure walked up to him, smiling at him coyly. "Hey, Alvin," she said as Alvin turned around to look at her. His lips immediately drew out a frown as he straightened himself.

"What do you want, _Chong_?" he asked her as she smiled widely, her eyes glistening in madness. Something that Alvin had learned that she was up to no good. He raised an eyebrow at her before taking a step forward, wondering to what she was up to right now. "What's with that look, Wendy?"

"Oh, look? You mean this look?" she asked as she pointed to her face. "Well, this is the look I'm going to wear when I get that A plus in Biology today by demonstrating my latest project," she continued as she crossed her arms against her chest and stared at him challengingly. Alvin just scoffed at her.

"Wendy, if anyone's going to get an A plus in that assignment, it's going to be me," Alvin said as he puffed out his chest. Wendy Chong just rolled her eyes before walking past him.

"We'll see, Ackerman," she said mockingly as Alvin mouthed her.

"_We'll see, Ackerman_," he said as he growled out in frustration and returned back to his locker, trying to search for his missing paper. After a few seconds, Max had walked towards him, already looking ready to head for class. He noticed Alvin's frown on his face before he grabbed onto his shoulder and shook him slightly.

"What's up, bro?" Max asked as Alvin sighed and looked at him. "You have that frown on your face."

"_Wendy Chong_," Alvin said simply as Max nodded understandingly. "She's just so infuriating and obnoxious!"

"Well, don't worry, Shred," Max said as he grinned at him. "You always won against her, remember?" he said as he nudged him on his arm as Alvin sighed. The young scientist closed the locker door before he leaned against it and looked at Max. "I mean, you got that platinum lab coat that Wendy didn't, you got into the school's nerd quiz that Wendy didn't, and you invented more cool stuff that Wendy didn't! Shred, you're way better than Wendy Chong."

Alvin couldn't help but to smile at Max's attempt to console him. He laughed a bit before nodding, feeling his confidence burning again inside of him. "Yeah, I'm better than her," Alvin said as Max nodded.

"Yeah, bro," he said before the school bell rung out. "Oh, class time. I'll see you later, Shred." With that, Max winked at him and walked away at the halls, running to get to his class, leaving Alvin there smiling. Max always tried his best to make Alvin feel better. Somehow, since Max had come into his life, the snowboarder had tried everything in his power to make Alvin feel special. He never excluded Alvin out of anything and even when they fought, he was the first one to make things better again.

Sometimes, it was indeed Alvin's fault like that lucky snowboard he replicated. But at the end, nothing was ruined because by the end of the day, they had that annoying 'bro hug' that fixed everything. Even though the young scientist hated physical contact, somehow with Max, it gave out an exception. Shaking his head slightly to remove those thoughts from clouding his mind any longer, Alvin sighed loudly and made way to his class.

* * *

><p>By the time recess had rolled in, Alvin was half-way done with school. He was exhausted somehow, after all with Wendy Chong in Biology, things were already hard. His hair was a mess and his glasses were slightly off from his nose. In other words, he was a complete chaos. "Woah, what happened to you?" Abby asked as she saw her little brother slamming the locker shut, sighing tiredly as he banged his head against it. Alvin looked at her and smiled.<p>

"Biology," he said as he remembered what had gone down in that class. It turned out Wendy had created a device that could ensure life in the dead by exerting enough electric pulse in muscles. Alvin had disagreed with that invention since it didn't give life, in fact, it just gave movements to a corpse. However, Wendy didn't like to be told she was wrong and he should've known that from the beginning before the war broke out and the teacher was trying to get them away so they wouldn't scratch each other anymore.

Abby just nodded, even though she didn't get what was going on and from the looks of it, Alvin didn't want to tell her either. "So, anyway, aren't you going to get anything to eat?" she asked as Alvin shrugged.

"I'll eat with Max," he said as Abby nodded and messed up Alvin's hair, letting her fingers to go through each strand before her little brother scowled.

"That sounds nice," she said. "I'll see you at home then." With that, Alvin waved her goodbye as he walked away from his locker, trying to look for Max so they could get something to eat. It took him a few minutes before he found Max, leaning against his locker talking to someone. Alvin quickly turned around, deciding that maybe it was bad timing before their conversation struck into his mind.

"I really like you, Max," a girl said as Alvin froze in his steps. He stopped moving and he felt like he was intruding someone's private talk even though this was just Max handling another one of his fans. "Please go out with me," the girl continued, her voice sounded sincere. Alvin fixed his glasses as he tried to take another step forward.

"I'm sorry, Chanelle," he heard Max said suddenly, his voice sounding apologetic. Before Alvin could remove himself from the situation, he heard Max calling up to him. "Shred!" Max yelled for him as Alvin sighed and turned around slowly, an awkward smile on his face. The girl who was confessing to him turned to look at him and a frown made way on her face.

"Hey, Max," he said carefully. "I'll just wait for you at my locker. Go ahead and talk," Alvin assured him only to have Max chuckling at him.

"No, man," he said quickly as he smiled widely. He then looked at the girl named Chanelle and patted her shoulder slowly. "I can't, Chanelle. I'm already dating someone else." Alvin's eyes widened as a small surge panic washed through his mind. What was Max saying? The girl's eyes widened as she looked at Max carefully, just like how Alvin was looking at his best friend.

"You are?" she squeaked out as Max nodded.

"Yeah, so we're cool?" he asked as he bawled up his free hand into a fist, asking her to nudge it. The girl just looked at his face before sighing and nodding. Alvin, on the other hand, simply wanted to run away from there. Soon, the girl left them alone, even though Alvin caught the small wash of hurt on her face. He felt guilty all of a sudden. _It's alright_, Alvin assured himself. _After this weird phase passes, Max will be free again for you_, he continued to say to himself for that girl. "So, I'm hungry," Max said as he looked at Alvin and walked up to him grinning.

Alvin just stared at him for a few seconds longer before frowning at him. "Max, why did you say that?" he asked as Max raised an eyebrow at him.

"Say what?" he asked as he finally placed a hand over Alvin's shoulder and tugged him close.

"That you were dating someone else," Alvin huffed out as Max chuckled again.

"I _am_ dating someone else," Max said easily before looking at Alvin in the eyes. "I'm dating you, aren't I?"

The world froze for Alvin as his eyes widened. His body had stopped functioning for a while as Max pulled him to start walking to the canteen, Alvin trying to ponder why his heart suddenly started to beat loudly. His shoulders tensed out as he felt this uncomfortable feeling surging through himself. "Max," Alvin said out loud before he pushed Max's arm away from his shoulder and he took a step back. "You can't simply say things like that."

Max stopped walking as he turned to look at Alvin, confusion slowly filled into his eyes. "What are you talking about, Shred?"

"You can't just say we're…," Alvin couldn't finish his sentence as he sighed and looked around, noticing how empty the hallway was. Alvin took a few steps forward before he whispered, "_Dating_."

"What? I can't?" he asked as there was something aching to hurt flashed onto his face as he frowned. Alvin took a few steps back as Max shoved his hands into his jacket and stared at the young scientist.

"You can't," Alvin said, matter-of-factly.

Silence filled in the void between them before realisation somehow flooded Max's face and the frown deepened. "Wait," he said suddenly, shocking Alvin at how tense his tone was. "You're _embarrassed_, aren't you?"

Alvin's eyes widened again at the sudden accusation. "What? Max—"

"You're embarrassed to be with Max Asher?" he asked he took a step forward, looking at Alvin with something nearing hurt again. Alvin closed his eyes shut and sighed loudly. _This day was getting worse_, he mentally noted before opening his eyes and looking back at Max, grabbing onto his shoulders and shook him slightly.

"Max," he said firmly, catching the snowboarder off guard. "That's not it," he said clearly. "I just…it's weird to say things like that out of the blue," Alvin corrected him gently, letting his arms fall from his shoulders as he felt his cheeks reddening. Really, why was he blushing?

Max stared at him for a while as Alvin avoided his eyes and stared on the ground, finding the shallow cracks on the ground fascinating. Silence filled in before Max sighed, catching Alvin's attention. "So, you're just shy?"

Alvin's cheeks would've turned ten shades of red as he looked at Max. He tried to say something but Max just grinned, all hurt and discomfort about this situation gone like a flash. "Max," Alvin growled out annoyed that Max seemed to somehow make sense of this situation when he couldn't. "I'm _not shy_."

"Sure, you are, bro," Max said before he took another step forward, almost touching Alvin's personal space. "I'll take care of you." Alvin could feel all coherent thoughts disappearing at the sudden closeness as he looked Max into his eyes. Why was he suddenly feeling this way? But after a few seconds, Max pulled away and grinned. "Let's get some food, I'm starving, man."

And with that, Max had walked forward, leaving Alvin behind in his thoughts. His cheeks were still warm and his heartbeat was accelerating. Touching his chest silently, Alvin frowned. His chest was feeling light as well, something that he wasn't used to feeling.

Was he ill?

Shaking his head, he finally sighed and looked at Max's retreating back. After a beat, he followed Max to the canteen. Something wasn't right here with himself, but for now, Alvin pushed it aside and focused on getting something to eat.

He might be just hungry.

* * *

><p><strong>Eh-well? Haha, anyways, see you guys soon. -Krystal <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Well...to say the least, I'm so sorry for the late update! I had no idea on what to do next and you know, my brain needs some resetting before I can write down. Anyways, I'll just rant at the end of this chapter. So, for now, without futher ado, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Oi! I said this wasn't mine, didn't I? Shesh...lawyers these days...**

**Warning: This is Max/Shred slash. No likey, no ready, capish? Any flames will be used to roast chestnuts and continue to use those shells to hit you while I sit down and enjoy those roasted deliciousness as you scramble away to find protection. :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

* * *

><p>School ended and before any of them knew it, Alvin and Max ended up back home. Lunch was spectacularly boring, Alvin had concluded as he ate his weird salad that Abby had wanted to make for him. It didn't look particularly appetising but the taste wasn't so bad. However, Max had already gone into their room and grabbed his snowboard when he learned that there was some new snow for him to glide down. Alvin hadn't seen him during the whole entire afternoon.<p>

Alvin found this peace of time a good opportunity for him to finish some of his latest projects. He couldn't really get to finish them whenever Max was around. He would somehow end up doing something weird that would distract Alvin or when he got too bored, the snowboarder would insist on touching Alvin's stuff until something exploded or was destroyed. Even though it amused Alvin sometimes, it really wasn't something that he wanted to become some normalcy in his life.

His things were better off not turning into some weird colourful failure or exploding into Max's or Alvin's faces.

By the time Max had come back home, it was almost nearing dinner time and Alvin had just finished with his invention, sighing happily when he looked at his new born baby. Taking off his goggles, he noticed Max had entered their room, carrying his snowboard with a happy smile on his face. Alvin raised an eyebrow at him before he shook his head slowly and went back to placing the goggles on the table and continued on stripping himself from the lab coat.

"Hi, Shred," Max greeted as Alvin looked at him with a smile before he adjusted his glasses on his face.

"Hey, Max," Alvin replied as Max took off his thick jacket and proceeded to lay them down on the bed. Silence ventured in before Alvin sighed again and walked to his bed before he plopped down, trying to decide what to do next. "Had fun?" Alvin asked after a while of silence, causing Max to look at him with a grin on his face.

Max placed his snowboard against the wall before he took off his snow cap **[1]** and placed them on his bed. He stretched a bit before he sat on his bed to look at Shred.

"Yeah, man," Max said, excitement clearly rolling off on every word. "The best snowboarding ever so far."

"That's nice," Alvin said, even though he was losing interest already. "I had managed to find some peace in your absence to finish up most of my projects."

"Cool, man," Max nodded, his grin still plastered on his face, a genuine interest, unlike Alvin's, lightening his face up. "What did you make this time?"

Alvin proudly looked back at his working desk and smiled widely. "I managed to finish up the X-ray glasses that I had been talking about. They're still a bit off here and there but the prototype is working quite well if I do say so myself."

Max beamed up at the invention. "Like you can see through people and stuff?" Max asked, suddenly piqued up with more than just curiosity. Alvin raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

"Not just through people, Max," Alvin said. "It can be adjusted to see through different layers such as through skin, through bones, through concrete and et cetera." Alvin just let the words to hang out in air in the simplest way possible so Max could understand without getting confused.

"Can I try?" Max asked as Alvin sighed.

"Not now, Max," Alvin said. "I just finished them. I'm going to have to make sure they're really safe for human eyes tomorrow before letting you try them," Alvin continued as Max nodded, somehow looking real understanding. These quiet and subtle changes in Max's way of conversing with Alvin were not left unnoticed. The young scientist noticed them, how Max was showing true, genuine interest for Science that doesn't give him benefit in return and how Max didn't push him about wanting to try one of Alvin's inventions.

Something didn't settle right in here and Alvin didn't like this. He didn't like how Max was changing a bit into something more—_normal_ all of a sudden, especially now. Alvin shuddered at that thought, just imagining how Max would be if he was slightly more intelligent, less bubbly and more—more _boring_.

That Max was someone that Alvin would've died to be friends with in the beginning but after knowing this Max, the young scientist was sure that he didn't want to be with any other versions of Max except for this one. "Max?" Alvin asked slowly as Max looked at him, eyes demanding the young Ackerman to continue on with his line of question. "Are you alright?"

Max raised an eyebrow before he chuckled. "Yes, of course I am, bro. Why?" he asked as Alvin narrowed his eyes at Max.

"You seem to be—_normal_," Alvin stated, trying not to offend the snowboarder. Max couldn't help but to laugh at Alvin's way of phrasing his words before he shook his head and stood up.

"Hey, mind if I joined you?" he asked as Alvin looked at him, confusion lingering a bit before he saw Max pointing at his bed. Quickly scooting over a bit, he patted an empty spot next to him. Max took that as an invitation and went over to Alvin's bed before sitting next to him, sighing in contempt. Silence lingered on before Max laid down on the bed on his back, wriggled a bit before he let the comfortable mattress relax him. Alvin turned his body slightly so he could face Max properly and looked at him even more confused.

What was Max doing?

Max noticed the look Alvin was giving before he looked at him in the eyes, smiling warmly. "I was trying to be more—gentleman like."

"Gentleman?" Alvin asked, as Max sighed a bit and placed one of his hands at the back of his head, enjoying the comfy mattress.

"Yeah, you know," Max said as he looked at his best friend's eyes. "Like listen to when someone is speaking, not being stubborn at another person's ideas. Things that people do when they're dating someone."

Alvin's mind had stopped working for a moment or two before his face lit up red. He was still not used to this conversation. Heck, he had thought that whatever Max had said to him yesterday was nothing more than a really weird dream! Max seemed so serious at times like this that Alvin was starting to feel doubt at the easy decision he had made. He wasn't used to dating anyone and he wasn't used to feeling any emotions that resembled attachment except for his parents and his sister.

He didn't do love.

He couldn't even imagine himself ten years from now, being in love. That mere thought sounded so impossible in the young scientist's mind. Besides, the darker path inside his mind seemed to breach out to loneliness, as if it was something definite for him. Nobody liked him sincerely enough, nobody had tried to. When he first entered high school, people gave him sceptical looks and sneering laughter whenever he wasn't looking.

He rarely got bullied, mostly because they knew that he was Abby's sister. Abby had a reputation in Blizzards Spring High, as someone good natured and kind and they assumed that Alvin was something like that, if not a little bit dorky. Nobody had walked up to him and introduced himself and Alvin remembered feeling really alone for the first time in his life.

Suddenly, there came into the picture, Max. Him and his bubbly personality, shocking him from his daily grey routine and normalcy. It irked him in the beginning, wanting nothing more than his old life back but when he got used to the vibrant colours that blotched his life up in so many ways, he didn't want to go back to his dull grey life. He wanted those colours to stay.

So, when love didn't come to him, he decided to keep it like that.

If he wasn't worth much to anyone right now to be loved, then he wasn't going to waste his time to get someone to notice him. He didn't want to change into some Casanova just for the sake of getting someone's attention. He didn't want to love somebody knowing that he had to change his 'dorky' ways. He liked being himself, even though occasionally he would start to doubt that persona named Alvin.

But Max, he seemed to take whatever Alvin threw in his way with a proud smile. The snowboarder claimed that he never had a brother before and he enjoyed taking care of Alvin somehow. But that was what Alvin gets scared of. He doesn't like to be taken care of, he doesn't like being dependant on someone. He knew that one day, someone's gotta grow up and leave. He would be alone all over again and Max, he wouldn't be with him forever, best friend or not.

"I—," Alvin tried to get some words out but at the end, his reddened face just gave Max the amusement he needed.

"Dude, your face is red," Max said as Alvin slowly looked at him, fear suddenly washing into his mind. This was the truth, it seemed.

He was really dating someone.

But eventually Max would get tired of him and leave him alone.

Max noticed the sudden change of emotions on the young scientist's face and slowly sat up, frowning a bit. "Shred?" he asked as Alvin went spiralling in panic with this new found information inside. "Shred," Max said softly as he touched Alvin's shoulder, jolting Alvin out from his daydream.

"We can't date, Max," Alvin blurt out all of a sudden, causing some shun silence in the room as Max furrowed his eyebrows at him. "This is…this is wrong."

"Shred, dude, what's wrong?" Max asked as he properly sat up and approached Alvin who looked panicked out for a moment. "Shred? Come on, man. Talk it out, what's up?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Alvin exclaimed, causing Max to flinch and dropped his hand which was touching the younger Ackerman's shoulder. "This is weird. I'm not the boy to experiment these things on, Max," Alvin said as he sighed loudly.

Silence lingered on before Max sighed too. "I just wanted to try this new gentleman thing, didn't think you would hate it," Max said softly as he rubbed the back of his neck slowly. Alvin looked at him before confusion lingered on. Seconds passed before Alvin realised that Max didn't get what he meant.

"No, Max—"

"Let's go on a date then," Max said, catching Alvin's eyes.

"Max, what—"

"Dude, this makes perfect sense, see?" Max said as his eyes started to gleam again. "You're just shy and stuff, so you get flustered up easily and this is weird for you. So let's go on a date. Just chillin' with each other, how about that?"

Alvin didn't know what to say as his mind shimmered down from doubts. Max seemed really happy all of a sudden. It seemed like this snowboarder was convinced that Alvin's little outburst was because he was shy and a bit unsettled at this thought of dating someone.

Well—it wasn't a _wrong_ assumption, Alvin mused in his mind, suddenly feeling a bit calmer than before. There, things seemed a bit brighter. He didn't know why but Max had the sense of making things lighter and less stressful, like right now. Alvin was still not sure about this but his doubts, his fears, everything that a boy such as himself shouldn't be thinking disappeared. Because right in front of him, Max was there.

"A _date_?" Alvin resigned himself to his fate after being in denial for almost forty eight hours.

"Yeah," Max beamed brightly, once again colouring this moment with anything but grey, black and white. "We can go catch a movie. Or—I don't know, do whatever you like."

Alvin didn't know why this situation sounded so funny but it did. He ended up smiling, his panic washing off as if it was never there and his mind had reset itself by the end of it all. Max looked at him carefully before he smiled back, warmth radiating from them. "There you go. You looked like you were gonna puke at any moment just now."

"I _was_ freaked out," Alvin admitted slowly as Max chuckled out.

"Don't worry, bro," he said before he placed his hand on Alvin's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "Everybody gets like that whenever they find out they're dating Max Asher," Max teased as he gave out his grin as Alvin rolled his eyes at him.

"I would like to doubt that but I've seen your fan girls before," Alvin said as he mentally shuddered at them. After a while, silence filled in and suddenly, Alvin was quite aware at how close Max was. His hand was still on his shoulder and Alvin somehow was sitting in front of him, their knees almost brushing. This situation didn't settle well for Alvin and once again, panic started to rush in but before it could kill Alvin from within, Max had retreated his hand.

"Hey, can we try something new?" Max asked, as he caught Alvin's eyes again. Alvin's breath hitched as he stared into them, somehow realising for the first time how Max's eyes sparkled under their brightly lighted room. Alvin thought he could see some stars in those eyes, aimed just for him. Alvin wanted to yell out '_preposterous!_' at his thoughts but somehow, he couldn't find the logic he needed to deny that fact.

In fact, he was as if stripped out of logic at the moment. Just completely bare to anything Max was going to say. And he would accept them. "What is it?" he asked, his voice sounding breathy for a moment before Max handed out his hand.

"Can we try holding hands?" Max said out slowly, his cheeks tinting slightly in red as Alvin's eyes widened.

"Ho—Holding hands?" Alvin croaked out as Max looked at him sheepishly, slightly embarrassed but there was something else in those eyes.

"Yeah," he said slowly as Alvin slowly darted away from Max's eyes and to the hand that was being held out at the moment. Silence embarked them on some thoughts but before Alvin could ponder on, he was staring at that hand. They seemed so warm and inviting. Sometimes, Alvin would catch himself staring at them, wondering what it would be like to touch them. But he didn't ponder on those thoughts for so long and now, he was just a breath away from fulfilling his secret fantasy.

Slowly, his fingers touched his palm. Tracing it gently, his fingers touched on the softness and yet strength hidden in those hands. Max remained quiet as he stared at what Alvin was doing. The young scientist, on the other hand, was somehow transfixed as his fingers touched his wrist and traced them, feeling some burst of joy inside even though Alvin didn't know why. His fingers traced out the lines inside of his palm for a moment before he placed his palm against Max's, his cheeks blazing red when he realised what he had done.

Max smiled softly before he clasped them tight, letting their fingers to intertwined for a moment. The warmth seeping through their bare skin was something new for the both of them. Max had dated before and he knew what type of warmth between someone's fingertips held but Alvin's was softer and gentler. Alvin found himself slowly getting addicted to this as he clasped tight as well, unsure to the thundering emotions swirling through him.

His heart was hammering against his chest, and he was having trouble breathing all of a sudden. Slowly, he looked at Max, and his breath hitched when he realised how close their faces were. He noticed all the distinct features of Max like how long his eyelashes were and how a bit pointed his nose really was. Alvin had this urge to slowly trace his face next and Max was just smiling at him, their eyes caught and each of them trying to search for something about this moment. Before Alvin realised it, he felt the distance between them lessening and Max was only a breath away.

His breath was ghosting heavily on Alvin's lips and the warmth was very inviting. It sent some cool chills down his spine as Alvin licked his lips, somehow catching Max's attention.

"Alvin?" suddenly, Abby opened the door to their room, causing Alvin to come out from his stance and pushed Max away, harder than necessary, making him to topple out of the bed and onto the floor with a painful thud. Abby quickly entered the room and eyed at Alvin warily for a moment before she saw Max jumping up from the ground and waved at Abby. "What happened?" she asked, sensing the awkward atmosphere before Max looked at her and grinned.

"Nothing much," he said casually before Abby rolled her eyes at him.

"So, what do you want Abby?" Alvin asked, finally calming himself down while Max distracted her for a moment.

"Oh, well," Abby said slowly as she looked at him. "Do you think you can help me with my homework later?" she said, somehow knowing that her brother was smarter than she was in these things. Alvin raised an eyebrow at her before he sighed and nodded. It was better that she left soon.

"Yes, I'll help after dinner," he said as Abby nodded.

"And speaking of dinner, dinner will be done in another ten more minutes," she said as both boys nodded their heads. With that, Abby eyed at them one more time and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. The silence dawning on them was suddenly really awkward as Alvin shuffled on the bed slightly, his face reddening again as he looked at his hand, remembering what they almost did a few minutes ago.

They almost _kissed_!

Alvin didn't know if he should be mortified or flustered about this. However, Max seemed indifferent as he sighed loudly and looked at Alvin. "So, the date," he said as Alvin looked at him for a moment. "Want to catch a movie?"

In the silence and awkwardness radiating from both of them, Alvin could only nod at that, the question not really registering in his mind. Instead, he was more concerned about what had happened. If he had just let things go on its own way, they would've _kissed_!

"Great!" Max said as he looked at Alvin. "I'm going to the kitchen to see if I can help and get a taste or two to calm my tummy. You coming, Shred?" Max asked as Alvin blinked a few times.

"Uh—, no, you go first. I—I need to fix on the, you know, stuff," Alvin finished lamely as he avoided Max's eyes. Max just shrugged before he quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Soon, Alvin found himself drowning in this silence. Groaning, he covered his face with both of his hands.

"What was I going to do?"

* * *

><p><strong>[1] - I have no idea what that thing is called. The one where in snow cold days you wear it on your head. ...And I'm too lazy to check it in Google, so yeah. slaptodead**

**Woah, Alvin oh Alvin...tsk tsk, really, what _were_ you going to do? Kiss Max? :D **

**Hope you guys like this chappie and don't forget to drop a review about this chapter! :D Oh, shameless advertising, but I have an AO3 account now so, if you guys want to catch my other fan fics (which...might or might not be on FFnet), the link is on my profile! :DD But anyways, thanks for all the recent reviews, favs and follows! It really means a lot to me! Do continue to support me though~! -Krystal **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Not mine~! **

**Warning: This is Max/Shred slash~ No likey, no reading. Krystal out. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

* * *

><p>Dinner, to say the least, was anything but normal. Well, in the Ackerman household, nothing ever was—you know—<em>normal<em>. He didn't think this family was capable of being normal in the first place. It wasn't as if they didn't try to be normal, but Alvin didn't think his family needed to be normal. He was alright with how things were. But now, right at this moment, presently, this was a different type of weirdness.

Alvin looked stiff, as if someone had pushed him into an ice bath and had left him there to freeze. Abby just drank her soup, slowly looking at her brother occasionally before she flickered at Max. She would open her mouth for a moment and then she would close it, going back to eating her soup. Diane, on the other hand, watched her son closely before she glanced at her husband, who in return looked back at her with the same expression painted on his face.

The younger Ackerman could feel the stares, he wasn't that oblivious, but he didn't heed them any attention. Instead, he continued a staring match with his soup, occasionally drinking it before he would squirm in his seat, as if he didn't want to be there at the moment. Slowly raising his spoon to his lip, he quickly gulped it and drank it all in one go. He was also shuffling his body together, as if he was scared that he might burn into crisp if he let himself move freely from the confined space of his chair.

"Uhm, Alvin?" Llyod began, catching the young scientist with a sharp jolt, his spoon flinging across the floor from the shock. Alvin quickly straightened himself before he pushed the glasses against his nose, licking his lips along the way. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Alvin said defensively. Silence ventured in before he slowly looked down to the floor, searching for his missing spoon.

"Here, Shred," Max said, handing over the spoon in front of Alvin's vision. Alvin felt his cheeks reddening as he quickly grabbed it back. The object of his discomfort was acting so calm that it made Alvin feel slightly embarrassed with the way he was acting. But irritation also bubbled inside of him when he saw how Max was grinning at him, looking so cool and collected—something that Alvin couldn't manage no matter how long or hard he tried.

How could Max act so—_so_—so _himself_ after what they almost did?

Alvin wasn't supposed to be the one acting like he was going to be murdered after this!

_Max_ was the one supposed who was supposed to be so freaked out that he would be cooped up in their room and play video games all day, ignoring Alvin. _Not the other way around_! Max was the one who was trying find out about his—his—his _whatever_ it was that he needed to find out. Alvin never needed to find anything about himself. He knew exactly who he was and he knew exactly what he wanted to be after all this growing stage was over.

Why—_pray and tell_—was he the only one acting like a girl?

"Dude, you don't have to glare at me!" Max said as he raised his eyebrows in amusement. Alvin blinked for a minute or two before sighing, finally feeling the tension between his eyebrows. He somehow ended up glaring at him while he was thinking.

"I can pick my own spoon from the floor just fine, Max," Alvin said slowly before he glanced back at his parents, who were watching him with silent confusion. "But thanks."

"You're welcome, bro," Max said happily before going back to eating his soup. Once again, Alvin was left with this baring confusion in his mind about Max's behaviour.

"Alvin, dear," Diane began as Alvin quickly looked back at her. "Maybe you should get another spoon."

Alvin nodded, knowing that his mother wanted to tell or ask something more but somehow she thought it was better if she kept quiet. However, Alvin didn't want to eat anymore. He didn't feel like indulging himself with soup and let his mind do the wandering. He hated how he lost his self-restrain over things so easily just because of—_Max_. "No, thank you. I'm done eating."

"Are you sure?" Diane continued to ask, sounding worried as she had a small frown on her lips accompanied by a pair of furrowed eyebrows. Alvin just gave her a smile to indicate that he was fine before he nodded.

"Yes, may I be excused then?" he asked as Llyod shrugged.

"Yeah, okay, honey," Diane said carefully. "Just know we have leftovers if you're hungry later."

"Thanks, mom," Alvin said before he quickly stood up from his seat and hurried off to the stairs.

Alvin was considering maybe drowning himself with his science inventions should help, even though he had done particularly everything he wanted while Max was away. Flustered and a bit confused about everything, Alvin decided that maybe handling hazardous things while in this state wouldn't really help him since he needed to be alive anyway to do any solving.

But just as he quietened down once he entered the room, his eyes immediately darted to his bed and the memories from just now flashed into his mind with a menacing laughter. Alvin felt his heart starting to hammer loudly against his chest and his mind going blank. This was definitely something that he didn't expect from himself. Trying his best to calm himself, he decided to walk to his bed and sit down. Maybe he needed to distract himself with some complicated science theories.

_Yes, that could help_, Alvin said in his mind as he searched his drawers for something to read. As he finally found the magazine of his choice, the door to their room opened and Max walked in with a loud satisfied sigh. Alvin immediately yelped loudly in shock as he ended up causing the magazine to fly off from his hands and end up on the floor. "Don't you _knock_?" Alvin gritted out as he touched his chest, trying to make sure he didn't die from a very rapid heartbeat. His face felt slightly warm and his whole body felt weak.

Max looked at Alvin for a second before he blinked. "You okay, bro?" he asked as he walked closer to Alvin. The younger Ackerman quickly scooted away from him and tried to keep the long distance from them.

"Yes, so don't come any closer," Alvin spoke out, causing Max to abruptly stop in his steps. Silence invaded between them as Alvin finally sighed out, happy that he had managed to get his heartbeat rate back to normal. He didn't feel feverish anymore either and decided that this was over.

"You okay _now_, Shred?" Max asked as Alvin slowly looked back at Max, deliberately ignoring his eyes.

"Yes, I am."

Max just stood there and stared at Alvin for a few seconds before he sighed. "You just look jumpy," Max continued as he looked down on the floor and crouched down slightly to pick the book up. "Woah, this book looks so serious," he commented as he looked back at Alvin. Alvin just rolled his eyes before he stretched out his hand out to Max.

"Yes, and I would like to read it now," he said as he kept avoiding his eyes. Max just shrugged before handing the book to him. Alvin immediately snatched it back harshly before he made way to his pillows and leaned against them, trying to get comfy so he could read and ignore Max. The memories were actually threatening to flash in his mind again but since he avoided Max's eyes, he doubted they would spill over. He didn't care anymore what Max did for now.

He was sure, if he did end up meeting Max's eyes, he would end up blushing like some girl and Alvin was sure, he _never_ blushed like a girl before this. And if anyone else contradicted that fact, then he would just have to make sure their said memories would be erased. He darkly let out a soft chuckle before he opened his magazine. He knew Max hadn't moved away from the spot.

He could literally feel him.

But no matter, Alvin kept his eyes strained on the magazine.

He didn't want to entertain Max.

"So, the date," Max suddenly said, somehow shuffling from one foot to the other, looking at Alvin who was ignoring him. "Can we just watch the movie from my laptop?"

The young scientist's blank brain somehow clouded back with the memory of before, causing Alvin to squirm on the bed a bit before he sighed loudly. "What do you mean?" Alvin asked, still looking at the magazine but not really reading it. He should've known that this would happen. If Max was in the same room, unless he was playing his video game, Alvin was sure that he wouldn't get to ignore him at all.

"You know, just chillin' at home. Here, preferably," Max said slowly as if he was scared of Alvin's reaction. Chilled silence took over as Alvin's eyes widened at that. Before long, he snapped his gaze at the snowboarder, meeting his eyes. The young scientist froze on his spot when he saw how hopeful yet serious Max looked. Alvin had a million reasons why this was a wrong idea but somehow, at this moment, he couldn't find it in him to say them out loud.

Those eyes that shimmered in hope made Alvin see that this meant a lot to Max. Even if it made Alvin uncomfortable, it helped Max to decide things in his life. _Like his choice of lovers_, Alvin said in his mind before he looked away, feeling the same warmness making way on his face once again. Why was he getting so flustered up so easily? For a few seconds, nothing was said and Alvin knew this was making Max uncomfortable and Alvin liked that.

Alvin liked that for once, Max was the uncomfortable one.

And yet, deep inside, he didn't like it either. He didn't like to see that look on Max's face. That face of hopefulness slowly dissipating at each passing second of silence. Finally, Alvin sighed loudly once again, his innermost thoughts winning over even though his logical side was screaming at him that this was a bad idea. It seemed that his logical side was convinced that something horrible was going to happen and Alvin was almost faltered with that.

_Almost_.

"Yeah, sounds good," Alvin said, his voice slightly squeaky in—in _embarrassment_, Alvin noted. Max's eyes lit up as if someone had agreed to hand him three plates of chocolate pecan pie. The snowboarder couldn't help but to grin widely before he nodded, his aura completely changing around him. The nervousness that was present a moment before was gone when Alvin had agreed. The scientist raised an eyebrow at that but he didn't dare to look at him in the eyes again.

Why did Max show so much joy whenever Alvin agreed with whatever he wanted?

Alvin didn't know but it made him feel warm inside. As if he had done something good and it always made him smile at the end. "Tomorrow then, after school."

Alvin just nodded curtly before Max went away to his side of his room.

* * *

><p><em>He was tired<em>. Period.

Alvin Ackerman, the young genius who had created more than impressive inventions, was tired because he didn't sleep the whole night. He groaned to himself when he realised that he had gotten less than five hours of sleep. His mind just wouldn't shut down most of the time, driving him half mad when he realised that it was already time for school. He just wanted to curl back in his bed and sleep. But the alarm clock was loud and annoying and as much as it would be enjoyable throwing that piece of useless junk across the room (and preferably hitting Max on the head so he would wake up as well), he had to admit that he would be late if he decided he needed another few minutes of sleep.

With that, he begrudgingly had gone into the bathroom, showered and dressed up, all in while ignoring or not bothering how messy his hair was. He couldn't believe that the whole night he had been thinking nothing but that blasted date with Max. As much as it should've bothered Alvin, it instead just created a fluttery feeling at the pit of his stomach. Every time he tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, he would end up wondering how their date would be.

It was weird for Max to have suggested that. Usually, Max was the type of person who lived to just stay outdoors. And that look in his eyes, they definitely took Alvin by surprise. Even though he had avoided from looking directly into them, he had a glance at those eyes. They were painted with nervousness and with a dash of something else besides of hopefulness. It irked Alvin when he realised that he didn't know what that look meant.

Alvin could always read Max like an open book. That boy had no sense of personal space, no sense of emotion block, in fact, Max was really an outgoing person. Whatever he was feeling, he would show it on his face as if he was trying to advertise it to the world. Alvin always liked that part of him, it eased Alvin's way of trying to get close to him. But just then, he couldn't even figure out what that was about.

Since when had Max gotten so secretive?

Max was also a person who trusted someone very easily. He trusted Alvin the moment he met him and it showed that he didn't have any secrets to hide. So, he let Alvin know whatever he needed to know about Max—about his family, his hometown, his crushes and sometimes, about his fears. And Alvin couldn't help but to ponder about what Max knew about him. There were some really embarrassing things that Alvin didn't want Max to know but he knew it anyways. And even though this should displease Alvin, he couldn't deny the fact that it felt great to trust someone, knowing he would never betray Alvin.

Back to this thought, this date thing and how Max had acted. It confused and perplexed Alvin. As a scientist, he needed a lot of variables and data before he could make a conclusion but as much as he wanted to do that, he couldn't stop this fluttering nonsense inside of him. It was as if someone had dropped ten jars of butterflies into him. His mind had also taken its own need to drift away into what could happen on the date.

But what _could_ happen on a date with Max Asher anyway?

Alvin had a faint idea of what people did on a date. Mostly grossed him out, especially when he accidentally watched a scene that he wasn't supposed to one day on the television. It scarred him and he definitely didn't think it could get any worse than that. When Abby saw how flustered and awkward Alvin had gotten when he saw that scene, she just explained it was what two people do when they love each other.

Alvin _didn't want_ to know.

Abby and her big mouth.

That was when he was barely even a teen. He barely even knew what a kiss was. But now that he was, he could guess that it made perfect sense. To want to kiss someone you like while on a date. Alvin mentally shuddered when he thought about kissing—_Max_. It was so awkward and weird that Alvin had to get up from his bed and get himself a glass of water. His face felt extremely hot the whole night and finally—Alvin resigned that whatever that was going to happen on that date, well, let it happen.

And that was when he finally got to sleep.

But it was barely enough for him to not yawn every five minutes. Max had shot him an amused look before the snowboarder literally tried to force down a glass of orange juice down Alvin's throat, saying it would freshen himself up. Of course, Alvin didn't like being forced to do anything and immediately slapped away the drink from Max's hands when the snowboarder wouldn't listen to his protests. At the end, the orange juice tipped out from the glass and splashed on Llyod's face, who was busy reading his newspaper.

Before Llyod could do anything at all, Max and Alvin had dashed off to school.

* * *

><p>School was barely eventful, except when it came to Wendy Chong. She would always come up to him and make some joke about how Alvin was going to go down that day before walking away, Alvin mimicking her the best way he could.<p>

So, to say the least, it wasn't very fun.

When Alvin had finally gotten home, he was surprised to see Max was already in the kitchen, drinking his apple juice while he leaned against the counter. Alvin slowly approached Max cautiously before he said, "Hey, Max."

Max looked at him and grinned before finishing up his apple juice. "Hey, Shred," he said. Alvin didn't really see Max at school after they bid their goodbyes. Something about Max had to finish his extra credit work had made Alvin think he would be late coming back home. So, when school was over, Alvin was ready to leave alone when his Biology teacher asked him to stay back for a few minutes. It turned out he needed Alvin's help on some questions.

But the young scientist didn't really expect Max to be home by the time he did. He really thought Max would be home late. "You're home already," Alvin stated matter-of-factly as Max chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, finished with my extra credit work already," he said as Alvin nodded. "Alright, well, I just found this awesome movie to watch. We should watch it now, how about it?"

Alvin blinked a few times before he realised what Max was talking about. Those fluttering feelings immediately took him by surprise as Alvin looked away from Max, clearing his throat a bit. "Uh, okay."

"So, popcorns?" Max asked as Alvin shrugged helplessly.

"I don't really mind," he said. With that said, Max quickly walked to grab some popcorns and decided to heat them up. "I—I'll just be in our room."

"Okay, bro," he said as Alvin turned around and headed for the stairs, his heart already beginning to thump loudly against his chest. Once reaching their room, Alvin felt the uneasiness settling in. He didn't know what to do, actually. Looking around the room, he spotted Max's laptop. He guessed that was where they were going to watch the movie from. He awkwardly shuffled on his feet for a few seconds before he sighed and plopped onto his bed, trying to get comfy. It was useless to try and dodge this now, wasn't it?

It didn't take long for Max to walk into the room, carrying a big bowl of popcorn and a disc he had rented. "Right," Max started before he walked where Alvin was and handed him the bowl of popcorns. Alvin gingerly took the bowl and looked at it for a moment. He didn't say anything but instead, he took a few pieces of the popcorn and shoved it into his mouth. He was more nervous than he had thought. Max just chuckled before he looked around his room to find his laptop. Once spotting it, he quickly went and grabbed it before he looked at Alvin. "Scoot over, bro."

Alvin did exactly that, scooting over until he was at least a few centimetres away from the middle. Max plopped next to him, causing Alvin to tighten his grip around the bowl. "Watch it, Max. Mom would get angry if she finds out we're eating in our room," Alvin chided gently as Max grinned at him.

"_Relax_," Max said coolly before he turned on his laptop. "Nobody's home. It's just you and me." Alvin felt a lump forming in his throat and the nervousness creeping into him once more. He didn't say anything else after that and just gave out a curt nod before Max proceeded to play the movie. "Oh, gotta turn off the lights."

"It's alright," Alvin quickly said. "We can watch it even if there's light." Alvin really didn't want to be plunged into darkness and to have Max sitting next to him so close. It didn't settle well for the young genius. It almost felt like he—he was the _girl_. He felt a short shudders running down his spine as he shook the thoughts out from his mind.

"What? Lights and movies are so _not_ cool, bro," Max declared before he slid out of the bed and went to switch off the lights. Alvin sighed loudly as he glared at Max from the bed before shaking his head.

"_Fine_," Alvin gave in before he looked at the laptop screen, waiting for Max to join in. The snowboarder grinned widely before he slipped back on the bed, placing the laptop on his lap before scooting close to Alvin. The young scientist quickly looked at him and raised his eyebrows when their thighs touched and their shoulders bumped, no space in between them all to separate them. "Uh, Max? Why are we so close?"

Max just looked back at him before he rolled his eyes in what looked like fondness. "Dude, if we didn't sit close, you can't see the movie." Alvin pondered on that statement for a few minutes before he nodded, grabbing onto the bowl of popcorns and nudged Max's shoulder.

"Fine, you can start now," Alvin said as he looked back to the screen, ignoring Max's wide grin of triumph. Max settled in deep into the bed before he sighed and pressed onto the play button, the screen immediately lightening up and the movie played. Alvin didn't pay any more attention to Max, instead, he kept on eating the popcorns and watched the movie with much focus.

"Bro, give me some of that popcorn," Max said from next to him before trying to get the popcorn without blocking the screen. Alvin just gave him an irritated hum when he realised that he was being disturbed. Max sighed for a bit before the snowboarder placed his arm around Alvin's shoulders and tugged him close, causing the young scientist to immediately fall onto his chest.

"Max?" Alvin suddenly looked away from the movie and to Max, raising his head a bit only to be pushed back down onto his chest. "Max!" Alvin exclaimed only to have Max grab onto the popcorn from the bowl and shoving it into his mouth. "Max, could you please let me _go_?" Alvin asked half annoyed and the other half feeling a little squeamish.

"No," Max said casually, tightening his grip around the young scientist's shoulders, keeping Alvin against his chest. The younger Ackerman's eyes widened before he looked at Max, having to tilt his head up a bit.

"What does _that_ supposed to mean?" Alvin demanded, his cheeks suddenly reddening. "We're too close!"

"Dude," Max hushed him, ignoring the complains and pointed at the screen. "This is the best part." Alvin didn't know what he was feeling at the moment. He felt annoyed that this snowboarder could simply refuse his want of space and yet, he felt slightly warm and comfortable being like this with Max. It confused him with no end inside of his genius mind, trying to find a reason to why Max was behaving this way. Seconds ticked on and yet, the more confused he had become when he realised that Max was actually relaxing into this embrace. "Bro," Max suddenly said, catching Alvin's attention.

"What?" Alvin said after a beat.

"Stop thinking and just watch the movie."

Alvin once again felt his cheeks reddening before he tilted his head up to glare at Max. "I wouldn't be thinking so much if we were not so close," Alvin bit out sarcastically. Max immediately looked at Alvin, his eyes searching the younger Ackerman's face before a smile wormed up on his lips. Alvin _didn't_ like that smile. It was always the smile when Max had known what Alvin was thinking and he would be pointing that out just to fluster him at any moment.

"You're shy again, aren't you?" Max asked, sounding gleeful all of a sudden. Alvin frowned at him before he tried to get up and push Max away only to have to be pushed back down onto the snowboarder's chest, this time, the arm dropped from his shoulders and wrapped around his chest. "Come on, bro. This is what people do when they're dating." Alvin felt his cheeks quickly reddening deeper as he tried to free his trapped arms. With the sudden jerking move of his arms, Max's hand ended up slipping from his chest to around his waist and squeezing tight there, causing Alvin to squeal.

A short silence passed as Alvin realised what he did and closed his mouth shut, his eyes wide and embarrassment filling up inside. Did he—did he just _squealed_? Alvin quickly closed his eyes and avoided doing anything else. He didn't know what he had done and why he had done it either. He just didn't like this anymore. Alvin was never used to being so vulnerable and this—this wasn't it. However, the grip around his waist was adjusted as Max's arm secured around them, squeezing them once again causing Alvin to frown. "_Max_," Alvin warned. This was getting a bit too uncomfortable for him.

Max finally gave out a short breathless chuckle before he placed he placed his chin on the top of Alvin's head, almost dragging the younger Ackerman to his lap. "Sorry," he apologised. "You just sound cute."

"Cute?" Alvin asked, annoyance filling up in his mind again, mixing not so well with the embarrassment. "_Cute_?" Alvin questioned once more before he sighed. "I'm _not_ cute, Max."

"Sure you are," Max said as he shrugged carelessly.

"Max, this is getting uncomfortable," Alvin said as Max sighed.

"Just calm down and relax, bro," Max said slowly, trying to coax Alvin to stop being so tensed out. "This is a date. We're just two people who have known each other watching a movie. _Chillax_."

"I am 'chillaxed', Max," Alvin retorted. "It's just this thing we're doing here—"

"It's called snuggling, Shred," Max said with a short laugh only to have Alvin to nudge him harshly against his chest with his elbow. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"It's not funny," Alvin said as Max laughed once more before he nodded, his chin digging into Alvin's head comfortably. Seconds ticked on before Alvin finally gave up and leaned into his chest, trying to stop himself from feeling like he was in some clichéd rom-com Abby used to watch. With that, the two of them settled in and continued to watch the movie, Max occasionally making a comment and Alvin trying his best not to permanently cause a hole in Max's chest from too much harsh nudging. It was tempting, Alvin thought but he really didn't want to call an ambulance in the middle of the movie so he kept his elbow to himself. Halfway through the movie, he felt the tiredness once again settling deep into his bones. He just then realised how tired he really was. Max was comfortable to lean against and the warmth radiating from him did nothing to dampen his exhaustion.

He felt a yawn threatening to pass through his lips as he felt his eyelids flutter shut. He really didn't want to sleep now—especially like this but somehow, he didn't find the will inside to stop this and so, he let his eyelids finally close. The darkness claimed him the second he surrendered to his exhaustion. The warmth and sense of safeness keeping him nice and tucked into his dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, how was it~? Sorry for the late updates, guys. I'm just busy with writing some other stuff at the moment and you know, laziness gets me nowhere sometimes. Anyways, ya, I don't know how old Alvin really is, but from my research (...does reading about two lines of the show considered _research_?) he's quite young, so I tried to keep this as innocent as I can. Well, innocent, as I can make him anyways because when I say innocecnt, my version of innocent is 'hugs and pecks on cheeks'. Mwa Har Har. Anyways, hope you guys liked this! :DD Until the next chappie - Krystal**


End file.
